Podgorica, (MINA) – The fight against organized crime requires continuous, strong and strategically oriented regional and international cooperation, based on the rapid flow of information, mutual trust and coordinated institutional action, Chief Special Prosecutor Vladimir Novovic said.

Speaking at the round table event “Joint Response to Organized Crime – International Cooperation and Institutional Capacities”, organized by the Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMI), he said that the fight against organized crime never ends.

Novovic said that international cooperation in the fight against organized crime is not only a matter of current importance, but is also strategically necessary.

According to him, criminal organizations operate transnationally, in an organized and sophisticated manner, using modern technologies and complex financial mechanisms that often exceed the capacities of individual national systems.

“This is precisely why no country can provide a full response to these challenges independently and in isolation. The fight against organized crime requires continuous, strong and strategically oriented regional and international cooperation, based on the rapid flow of information, mutual trust and coordinated institutional action”, said Novovic.

He pointed out that the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SST) has been developing intensive cooperation with key international and regional partners and institutions dedicated to fighting organized crime for years, adding that this cooperation has yielded concrete and measurable results in practice. 

These SDT results, Novovic added, have also been recognized in the European Commission reports year after year.

As he said, it is necessary to further improve the exchange of information, cooperation mechanisms and build mutual trust with international partners.

Zlatko Vujovic of CeMI said that the Supreme and Special State Prosecutor’s Offices have a key responsibility in the fight against organized crime, but also in strengthening international judicial cooperation.

He said that one of the key findings of a study on judicial, prosecutorial and police resources in the fight against organized crime in Montenegro, is that the capacities of the police in the fight against crime are filled at only 50 percent, which means that the system operates with a serious personnel shortage.

Deputy Supreme State Prosecutor and liaison prosecutor with EUROJUST, Jelena Djaletic, spoke about recommendations related to international cooperation.

She said that in January the updated Law on International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters entered into force.

“With the amended law, the Office of the European Public Prosecutor is recognized as a body whose requests Montenegrin judicial authorities can respond to and act upon”, Djaletic said, adding that last year the Montenegrin prosecution acted on two requests from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.